The Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath's Prologue Wealth Quotes

Quote #7

Thou seist to me, it is a greet meschief To wedde a povre womman, for costage, And if she be riche and of heigh parage, Thanne seistow it is a tormentrie To soffre hire pride and hir malencolie. (224-227)

A man might consider it costly to marry a poor woman because she would not be able to bring a large dowry to the wedding. On the other hand, men might complain of the pride and bad temper of a rich woman. This is just one instance of the way antifeminist portrayals of women made it so that no matter their situation, women simply couldn't win.

Quote #8

Thou seist, that oxen, asses, hors, and houndes, They been assayd at diverse stoundes; Bacyns, lavours, er that men hem bye, Spoones and stooles, and al swich housbondrye, And so been pottes, clothes, and array; But folkes of wyves maken noon assay. (291-296)

This bit of antifeminist wisdom explicitly connects wives to property by implying that, like one's other purchasing decisions, the decision to marry a woman ought to occur only after she has been tested. A man might make an argument that marrying a woman was "purchasing" her because of the cost of her upkeep.